Superintendent Patricia Charles worked her last day in the district on Nov. 9, completing more than five years leading city schools through a period of turmoil, tightening budgets and financial uncertainty. Charles said during her tenure the district has made great progress in trimming costs, keeping special education students in the district and ensuring resources are distributed equally to students.

The Board of Education appointed Craig Creller as the district’s interim chief academic officer Tuesday night. Creller will serve in the role for the remainder of the 2017-18 academic year. Creller has served as the district’s K-12 mathematics instructional specialist for the past seven years. He is currently enrolled in the Neag School of Education Superintendent Leadership program at the University of Connecticut.

Amid calls to strengthen civic education, IES has funded several interventions that are leveraging technological innovation and game design to engage students.

Congratulations to Violet Sims, who has been elected to the New Britain Board of Education on the Democratic ticket.

University of Connecticut Professor Emeritus Vincent Rogers has announced an endowment to the University’s Neag School of Education, designating a legacy gift of $125,000 to expand the Rogers Educational Innovation Fund, according to the fund’s website. With the expansion, “The Rogers Award” will provide $5,000 annually to an elementary or middle school teacher in the state of Connecticut for use in the classroom, the fund’s website said.

Legendary UConn women’s soccer head coach Len Tsantiris ’77 (ED) has announced his retirement after 37 tremendous years at the helm. Tsantiris took UConn from its infant stages as a program and turned it into a national power.

Len Tsantiris saw it all. He started coaching girls soccer at E.O. Smith High School in 1977, just as Title IX was starting to make an impact on girls’ and women’s sports. And in 1981, he started coaching the fledgling UConn women’s soccer team. After 37 years, four national championship game appearances, seven Final Four appearances and over 500 wins, Tsantiris, 68, announced his retirement from UConn Tuesday.

Bullying, harassment and social exclusion are common climate problems within schools, but they’ve become especially concerning since the 2016 presidential election, George Sugai said.
In his keynote address at the Reynolds Alumni Center on Wednesday, Sugai — a professor at the University of Connecticut with a Ph.D. in special education — discussed the necessity of educators creating a positive school climate on all campuses.

“What would happen if we invited uncertainty into our classrooms? If you’re not sure how to answer this question, you’re not alone. What makes this question difficult is that most of us don’t like uncertainty. It’s uncomfortable. We do our best to avoid uncertainty and if we experience it, we attempt to quickly resolve it.” Ron Beghetto

“I Know This Much Is True,” the 1998 novel by Wally Lamb of Mansfield, will be turned into an eight-episode miniseries for HBO, starring and executive produced by Oscar-nominated actor Mark Ruffalo, Lamb has announced.